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PETER A. HAUSE, OF CATONSVILLE, MARYLAND.

team Patat: No. 67,761, dared August 13, 1867.

IMPROVED TRACE-COUPLBR.

TO ALL WHOM T MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, PETER A. HAUSE, of Catonsville, in the county of Baltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and improved Coupling for Harness; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in-whicb- Figure 1 is a front view of the improved coupling, showing a strap attached to a staple.

Figure 2 is a back view of the same parts.

Figure 3 shows two straps connected together by means of two of my improved couplings.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the device in the act of being detached from a hams-tug ear.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures.

This invention relates to a new and improved device, which is designed for coupling together diierent straps used in a harness, such, for instance, as the trace-straps, and belly-band straps, and other straps which have heretofore been connected together by means of buckles.

The object of my invention is to dispense with the use of buckles, and to employ instead thereof a much stronger, safer, andvmcre durable means of attachment, consisting of a at head formed on one end of a tongue having a.bent shoulder, and employing a strap in conjunction therewith having an oblong slit or slot for receiving the flattened head through it, as will be hereinafter described and shown.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, Iwill describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, figs. l and 2, I have represented a strap, A, connected to a staple l?, by means of my improved coupling; and in fig. 3 I have represented two straps connected together by the improved coupling. This coupling consists of a iiattcned and rounded head or button, C, which is dat upon its back side and rounded upon its front side, as shown in the drawings. The outer face of this button-head may be highly ornamented, so as to present a very neat and handsome appearance. This button, C, is formed lon or suitably secured to the end of a tongue, D,`which is rounded for a portion of its length, and flattened at and near its end, so that this end can be hrrnly secured to a strap, as shown in the drawings. The tongue D is bent so as to form a right angle at b, and upon the end of this portion 6 the button-head C is firmly secured or formed, as shown'in iig. 3. The point of connection of the button-heacl with the end of the tongue bis at or near the straight edge a a of this button, so that a hook or shoulder will lie-formed which willbc guarded by the said button. The device isapplied to a strap by stitching its flattened tongue between the two thicknesses forming the strap, leaving a portion of the tongue projecting beyond the end of the strap, as shown in gs. 1 and 2. For traces the device can be so applied as to leave a portion, c, ofthe leather projecting, as shown in fig. 3, for the purpose oi' covering the back part ofthe button C and the projecting portion o f its tongue. The manner of applying the device to a staple for connecting a strap thereto, as shown in lgs. 1 and 2, is to have an offset, g, formed in the staple, and to introduce the button-head through the staple by holding this head in the position shown in iig. 4, so that the shouldered portion b of the tongue will pass through the odset at g. The button having been passed entirely through the staple-tbe strap is then turned to the position shown in lig. 1, and the shoulder 6 drawn up against the head of the staple. For connecting the device to leather or other exible straps, the grooves or offsets y will not be required, as the material of which the strap is made will yield and allow the passage ofthe button C and its shoulder, b.

One great advantage of my improved coupler over buckles is that it has no joints nor movable parts. It is made of one solid piece of metal, and possesses great strength and durability. It cannot become casually detached from an object to which it is attached. When used for connecting traces to the trace-tugs,` or for connecting any two straps together, the strain will be sustained by the shoulder IJ against the end of the buttonhole, and by the straightb edge a a bearing upon the entire width of the strap through which the button is passed.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and'desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction ofthe at button head C upon the bent end b of a tongue portion, D, substantially as described and for the purpose explained.

2. The combination of a staple, B, having an olfset or groove,g, formed in it, with the button-headed connecting device C D, substantially as and for the purpose described.

PETER A. HAUSE.

Witnesses CHARLES Gsnwre, F. GERwIe. 

